


Sacred Simplicity

by EarendilElwing



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Always, Angst, First Kiss, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, OC Child death, Psychological Torture, Serial Killer Couple, but nothing too graphic, mcdanno, mentions of child abuse, murder case, some physical torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-19 21:56:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9461861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EarendilElwing/pseuds/EarendilElwing
Summary: While the Five-0 team takes on a new serial killer case, Steve prepares to confront Danny about their apparent mutual attraction.  But nothing goes as planned, and its a race against the clock to break their suspect in time to save one of their own.





	1. New Case

**Author's Note:**

  * For [missredsox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/missredsox/gifts).



> This is a long overdue gift for missredsox, who requested a "Steve saves Danny" type fic as a prize for my Follower Appreciation/Holiday giveaway. It turned out a lot longer than I anticipated, but I hope you enjoy it!

Danny paced the length of the locked cell, hands clamped over his ears to drown out the heavy metal music pounding at him from all sides.  His breath came in white puffs on the cold air, and his skin was covered in goosebumps.

How long had this been going on?  How long had he been here?  He didn’t think it was much more than a day, but the loud noise, the cold atmosphere, and his rumbling stomach made it difficult to concentrate.

For the umpteenth time, he ran to the steel door and beat his fists against it, peering through a tiny window and screaming at the top of his lungs.

“Hey!  Anyone there?  Somebody?  Let me out!  LET ME OUT!!”

* * *

_48 hours earlier_

“Look, I know I can be a pain in the ass sometimes-”

“Sometimes?  Danny, you are the living definition of ‘pain in the ass’.”

“And yeah, I will admit that I may or may not have a difficult relationship with Rachel and a somewhat violent hatred for Stan-”

“Captain Understatement makes his appearance…”

Danny held up a finger.  “I can do without the satirical commentary, thank you very much.”  He slouched in the passenger seat of his car.  “My point is that I may not deserve much in life, but I think I am entitled to more than a day’s notice that they’re taking my kids on a two week vacation to California – especially since they overlap the weekends I’m supposed to have them.”

Steve, who was (of course) driving the Camaro to their latest crime scene, gave a sympathetic hum.  “That was kind of a dick move.  But on the bright side, Rachel’s making it up to you by trading three of her weekends.”

“True, but it still sucks.  What the hell am I supposed to do with myself until they get back?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll come up with something.  You could use this as an opportunity to go out and try to establish a social life, like all normal people.”

Danny snorted.  “Like you have any idea what a social life looks like.  The only person you’ve hung out with these last two months is me.”

Steve pressed his lips together to hide a grin.  What Danny said was accurate, but what he _didn’t_ know was that it was intentional.  After he and Lynn had called it quits, Steve had taken some time to reflect on all that had happened in the last few years.  And despite the many awful things that he’d endured, there had always been a steady presence to watch his back, kick his ass, or share a laugh.  That presence was the loud-mouthed Jersey detective at his side, who somehow managed to get under his skin and burrow his way into his heart.  It had taken some serious soul-searching, but at the end of it, he embraced the undeniable truth that he was in love with his best friend.

Once the notion had settled, Steve went about preparing the op to woo his Danno.  The first step was to gather Intel on his friend’s potential level of interest, which he’d been doing by spending as much time with him as their schedules allowed.  So far, the reaction had been favorable.  Danny was willing, if not downright eager, to dedicate his child-free evenings and weekends to Steve.  Moreover, casual conversations regarding preferences had revealed that though they both had more experience with women, neither were unaware or unopposed to other options as well.

Steve’s next mission was to find the opportunity and the best way to express his desire to shift the nature of their relationship.  He’d been hoping that such a thing might happen organically – strategically placed hints or subtle, non-platonic touches, but Danny seemed completely oblivious to the deeper meaning behind his advances.  

Very soon, he would have to resort to his least favorite method: engaging in an actual conversation.  He had considered just shoving the shorter man up against a wall and kissing him senseless, but there was a small possibility that such an action might result in a punch to the face.  He wasn’t afraid of a physical altercation; he’d endured far worse, but it could damage their friendship beyond repair.  At least if they talked things out, there would be a better chance of them maintaining their partnership if the feelings weren’t mutual.

“Is that it?”

Steve snapped out of his reflections and took a left turn towards flashing red and blue lights.  “Looks like it.”

Danny groaned, and his voice dripped with sarcasm.  “Great.  The ONE day I forget to pack my hiking boots.”

“Dispatch did tell us that the body was dumped in the forest reserve.  Besides, how many times have I told you that those patent leather shoes are not suitable for our job?”

“And how many times have I told you that I _like_ my patent leather shoes, and I’m not going to give them up?”

Steve rolled his eyes and pulled to the side of the road behind the medical examiner’s van.  Lou Grover’s SUV parked behind the Camaro; he, Chin and Kono exited and fell in step behind the bickering duo.

“Max, what do we got?”

The Five-0 team navigated their way down a small ravine.  At the bottom, they met their favorite M.E., Max Bergman, who was kneeling over a corpse covered in mud, leaves and dried blood.

“Commander McGarrett,” he greeted, and waved to the others.  “What we have is a Caucasian male, approximately twenty-five to thirty-five years of age.  Based on the level of decomposition, I would estimate that he’s been here for about a week or so.”

“Any obvious cause of death?” Danny asked.

Max pointed to various parts of the body and explained, “The victim has several broken bones, including the ninth and tenth ribs, most of the metacarpals on his right hand, and both patellas.  Additionally, there appears to be a number of burn marks on the torso, limbs and fingers, as well as a fracture to the skull.  My initial assessment is that the latter is the most likely cause of death, but given the other injuries, I can not yet rule out other possibilities.”

Lou whistled.  “Okay, well, one thing is obvious.  The guy suffered a major beating.”

“Beating?  Sounds like he was tortured,” Kono added.

Steve nodded, having reached the same conclusion.  “Any I.D. yet?”

Max shook his head.  “Unfortunately, he does not have a wallet on him.  Also, it appears that his fingers suffered the most severe burn trauma, making it impossible to identify him through fingerprints.”  He took one of the man’s appendages and held it up for them to see.  “I will employ other means when I get him back to the lab.”

Chin grimaced at the charred skin.  “Okay, so either our perp is sadistic or it was a forensic countermeasure.”

“Maybe both,” Steve decided.  “Alright, we should do a sweep of the area.  Max, let us know when you’ve identified the victim.”

“Will do, Commander.”

Steve turned to the others.  “Let’s split up.  Chin, search the immediate perimeter.  The rest of us will fan out and see if there’s anything that can help us with who he is or how he got here.”

“We probably won’t find much.  This looks like a dump job,” Grover pointed out.

“Can’t hurt,” Steve said.  He, Danny, Kono and Lou began to walk in opposite directions, eyes glued to the forest floor for anything that might be relevant to their crime scene such as footprints, tire tracks, or debris.

Steve hiked for about fifteen minutes with no luck.  He was about to circle back and check in with the rest of the team when Kono’s voice came in over the radio.

“Hey Steve?  I found another body.  Two, actually.  Looks like they’re both woman.  They’ve got similar wounds to the first guy.”

“I got a D.B. too,” Lou declared.  “Male, half buried under some logs.”

“Same here,” Danny added, his voice intoned with righteous fury.  “It’s a kid.”

Steve scowled and turned around.  “Okay, mark the areas.  Chin, let Max know and call the lab.  We’ll need more techs out here.”

“On it,” Chin replied.

The comm went quiet for a few beats.

“What the hell did we just stumble into?” Kono asked.

* * *

A few hours later, Steve and Danny went to the M.E.’s office to get an E.T.A. on the autopsy results for their victims.  To their relief, HPD did not find any more bodies after Five-0 left, having widened their search in case there were more.  But it could be some time before they had all the evidence that could be obtained from the corpses themselves.

The SEAL and his partner stood over the first body that had been discovered, now cleaned of dirt and debris, and the standard Y incision stitched closed.  “Where we at?”

Max faced them from the other side of the table.  “Meet Mister Jacob Rai, who – as I suspected – died from blunt force trauma to the head.”  He adjusted the angle of the dead man’s skull to show them the fatal injury.  “I sent a mold casting to the lab, but I believe the murder weapon is likely to be a cylindrical object such as a pipe or a bat.  There were traces of metal shavings in the wound tract, so you’re probably looking for something made of that material.  I am sure Mister Russo will be able to tell you more when he completes his analysis.”

“What about all these other injuries?” Danny inquired.  He gestured to the multitude of scars and bruises visible on the man’s uncovered upper body.

“Ah yes.  As Ms. Kalakua suspected, the numerous wounds do seem to indicate that Mister Rai was subjected to several forms of physical torment over the course of a few days at least, as there are varying degrees of healing.  He also seems to have suffered from dehydration and starvation, as there was no food present in his digestive tract.  I have forwarded the full report to Jerry.”

“Good,” Steve said.  “And the others?”

“At this time, I have only completed one other examination.”  Max led them to the coolers and opened one of the middle drawers.  “I assumed that because of this victim’s age, you would want his identification and cause of death prioritized.”  He pulled the table out far enough to reveal the child that Danny found.

“Akoni Malik, age ten.  Unlike Mister Rai and the others, he does not show any signs of recent trauma.  In fact, he seems remarkable well-cared for.”

“Except for the fact that he’s dead,” Danny growled.

Steve glanced at this friend, but held back from expressing concern.  

“Yes, well - anyway, the cause of death seems to be an injection of sodium thiopental and pancuronium bromide.  If it’s any consolation, the dosages indicate his death was quick and painless.”

“It’s not,” Danny snapped.

“Max, you said there were no signs of ‘recent’ trauma on him,” Steve repeated.  “Was there anything else that might help with the case?”

The M.E. didn’t often hesitate when describing his findings, no matter how brutal, so his refusal to make eye contact with them raised suspicion.  “Based on the x-rays and his medical history, there are clear signs of _past_ abuse.  Broken bones, fractures, contusions-”

“Okay, we got it.  That it?”  Danny interrupted.

Max tilted his head.  “Thus far, yes.  I will send you any further findings, as well as the rest of the reports, once they are completed.”

Danny did not wait for a send off from the terse doctor; he stalked out of the room, leaving Steve to thank Max and run after him.  

“Danny, Danny!”  When they exited the front doors, Steve sprinted ahead to block his partner’s path.  

The blond shuffled in place, hands on his hips, and glared at the ground.  “I hate cases like this,” he murmured.

Steve agreed wholeheartedly.  “The ones with kids never get easier.”

“It’s not just the fact that he’s dead,” Danny explained, now pacing back and forth.  “I’ve worked abuse cases before, and for the life of me, I’ll never understand the mentality of these lowlife scumbags who think they’re hot shit for beating up kids.”

Steve was definitely on the same page, but unless Malik’s history was a contributing cause in his death, it wouldn’t help to dwell on it.  “I know, Danny.  I get it.  But right now, we need to focus on how and why he died and, more importantly, how he’s connected to Jacob Rai.  The abuse might be a factor, but if it’s not, we’re gonna have to set it aside.”

Danny didn’t look happy about that at all, but they both knew that Steve was right.  “Fine.  But if our investigation takes us to whose hurt him…”

He didn’t finished the threat, and Steve decided not to encourage him.  He’d like to go a few rounds with the asshole in question too, but Five-0 was constantly under the microscope these days.  He could hardly believe it, but he would need to keep both himself and the team in check when it came to emotional involvement that would have them toeing the legal line.

“Come on, Danno.  Let’s catch up with the others and see what they've found.”

Danny ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.  “Yeah, sure.”

“Hey.”  Steve moved closer and placed his hands on his friend’s shoulders.  “Once we wrap up this case, how ‘bout a couple of beers at my place, huh?  We’ll watch a game, relax, and try to clear our heads of this shit.  What do you say?”

The taut pull of Danny’s upper back relaxed, and a soft smile replaced the fury contorting his face.  “Yeah, that sounds good, babe.”

Steve grinned.  “Great!  It’s a date then!”

Danny crossed his arms and smirked up at him.  “A date?  About time!  Only took you seven years.”

Steve took a step back and coughed into a fist.  “Ah, well-”

“Relax, Steven.  I know you weren’t serious.”  Danny chuckled under his breath, but it sounded forced.  He headed for the Camaro.

Steve loitered behind.  He rubbed the back of his neck and suppressed a pained moan.  

He wasn’t sure what to make of Danny’s words and nonverbal cues; he hoped that his apparent disappointment was a good sign for “Operation Seduce Danny”, but sooner or later, he really needed to lay out all out on the line.

But for now, it would have to wait.  There was work to do.


	2. Victimology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team discovers a link between the victims and Danny reminisces.

“LET ME OUT OF HERE!”

Danny jumped back when a tall man with a leering visage appeared and bent to look in the window.

Panic shifted to rage in the blink of an eye.  The detective slammed his palms on either side of the reinforced glass in a direct challenge.  “Hey, you think all this,” he held up a finger to the ceiling and spun his wrist in a circular motion, “is going to break me?  Huh?”  He pointed at his captor on the other side of the door.  “I am going to get out of here, and when I do, I’m going to kill you!  Do you hear me?  You’re gonna pay for all those people you murdered!”

The man looked down.  Danny could just make out the jingle of keys and the telltale click of a lock releasing.

He took a few steps back as the door opened.  He hopped on the balls of his feet and spread his arms wide.  “That’s right!  It’s you and me, dirt bag!  Let’s go!”  He moved his fists into the standard boxing guard position.

The brute figure laughed, long and low.  He pocketed a set of keys and rushed his hostage.

Danny ducked and weaved around several wide swings and countered with a quick jab and a cross to the man’s face.  They connected; the first strike to the jaw rotated his neck to the side, and the second sent him reeling backwards.  Danny capitalized on the opening with two uppercuts to his enemy’s abdomen and a hook to the side of the head.

But instead of pressing his advantage, he retreated a pace or two, his instincts warning him that something wasn’t right.  The guy didn’t even _try_ to block Danny’s attack, nor did he seem all that perturbed by the assault.

His opponent straightened and wiped a small trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, the sadistic smirk never leaving his lips.  “Not bad, detective.  But now it’s my turn.”

Faster than Danny could have predicted, the man closed the distance and delivered a single powerful punch to his solar plexus.  The pain and momentum caused him to double over, all breath forced from his lungs.  Before he could recover, another blow to his back had him collapsing to the floor, coughing and gasping for air.

The man knelt to grab a fistful of dirty blond hair and hauled Danny up enough to look him in the eye.  

“As much as I’d love to pound your pretty little face in, we’ve got to make sure the Commander will be able to recognize it.  Not sure yet how much of you will be left when I'm done, so I’ll keep this,” he patted Danny on the cheek, “in tact, for now.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun.”

With that, he released Danny and let him fall back to the ground.  He stood again and raised his foot over his prone prisoner.

The last thought in Danny’s mind before it was overcome by pain was, _‘Steve…’_

* * *

Once Max had identified the remaining victims, the members of Five-0 split up to give notification to next-of-kin and interview family, friends and coworkers.  This guy-wrenching process took almost the rest of the workday, and it was a heart-heavy and weary team that reassembled at headquarters to compare notes.

“By all accounts, Mamoru Aoyagi was a good man,” Chin reported of one of the other males.  Aoyagi’s DMV photo, along with pictures of the others found dead on the reserve, were displayed on the main screen.  “World War II vet, stable family life, and nothing suspicious in his financials.”

“Ditto on Jacob Rai,” Lou concurred.  “A couple of his coworkers said he had a little bit of temper, but there wasn’t anything to suggest any serious vendettas because of it.”

Steve motioned for the sullen Danny to contribute.  “What about Akoni?  Any red flags?”

“No,” Danny replied, his manner quite subdued.  “His foster parents said he was a really good kid; he was never in any trouble and he didn’t act out much, which is a bit surprising considering what he went through.”  He stuffed his hands into his pockets and glared at the screen.  “They were going to adopt him,” he added in a soft voice.

“Okay, so as far as we can tell, all of our victims are basically average people just trying to live their lives,” Steve summarized.  “No reason to think they’d be targeted by a serial killer.”

“Are we sure they were all murdered by the same person?” Kono asked.  “We’ve got different backgrounds, genders, ages, causes of death…”

Jerry, who have been coordinating and compiling all of their information from the autopsy reports and interviews, nodded grimly.  “It’s a safe bet.  Aside from the dump site and signs of torture, there is one other thing that links them all: each of them either worked in or volunteered with some sort of therapy-type program.”

“Rai was teaching anger management classes,” Lou said.

“Aoyagi was leading a veteran’s support group,” Chin added.

Kono leaned against the table and tapped the pictures of the women.  “Rachel Tudyk dedicated her nights to a rape crisis hotline and Kyra Beatrix was a doctor at an outpatient drug rehab program.”

“Our last guy used to be an alcoholic; he’s an A.A. sponsor.” Steve finished.  “Jerry’s right; our perp is targeting people involved in treatment programs.”

“But why?” Danny wondered.  He waved at the photo array.  “These people weren’t hurting anyone; they were _helping_ others.  Not to mention, Akoni doesn’t fit the pattern.  He saw a therapist twice a month for the abuse, but he’s too young to volunteer at any kind of program.”

Chin crossed his arms.  “Not sure about Akoni.  But with the others, their activities might have made them vulnerable.  It takes a certain level of trust to work in these systems, especially drop-in programs like support groups.  Backgrounds checks aren’t a standard procedure for patients or attendees.”

Danny walked around the comm table so that he was closer to the screen and examined each picture.  “I guess.  So assuming this IS the main link, our killer could be posing as a either doctor, volunteer or another patient,” he theorized.

“Good point,” said Lou, following his logic.  “HIPPA laws and confidentiality policies prevent leaders and therapists from discussing their work with family and friends.  But if it’s another person that works in the system or attends group sessions or whatever, they’d have easy access to potential victims.”

“But that brings us back to the question of why.  Why them?  And what’s the point?” Danny responded.

No one offered any theories.

Steve looked around at his team, at their sagging postures and downcast demeanors.  “Look, it’s getting late, and it’s been a really long day.  Why don’t we call it night – go home, get some rest, and pick this up again in the morning?”

The relief that settled over them told him that he’d made the right call.

“Sounds good, boss,” Kono replied.

Steve bid them goodnight and headed to his office to call the governor with an update.  By the time he had finished, most of the group had shut down their equipment and left, but a light in Danny’s office revealed that the stubborn detective had remained.

Steve entered his partner’s office without knocking and found him seated at his desk, slumped in his leather chair and gazing at what appeared to be a postcard in his hand.

“Hey buddy.  Aren’t you headin’ home?”

Danny nodded without taking his eyes off of the card.  “In a minute.”

“Whatcha got there?”

Danny held it up to show him the front photo – a picturesque, snow covered farmhouse with the title “Wisconsin” printed in a cursive font.  “Christmas card from an old friend,” he explained.

Steve raised a questioning brow, unsure of the significance of the arbitrary object.  “Is that another visual aid?  Or - what did you call the New Jersey one?  A reminder of a better place?”

“Better place?  Are you serious?” Danny laughed.  “Do you have any idea how cold it is over there right now?  It’s not the place that’s the visual aid, you schmuck, it’s the letter from the person who sent it.”  He rubbed one of his tired eyes with his palm.  “You know what?  Forget it.”  He yanked open a drawer and dropped the card inside, then slammed it closed.

“No, no!  You can’t just show me something so random and not explain what it is.”  Steve plopped down in one of the chairs in front of the desk and settled in.

Danny scrutinized him for a beat.  “You really wanna know?”

“Yes.”

“... Fine.”  He took a deep breath and started, “Back in Jersey, before I transferred to Homicide, I worked a lot of different cases – B and E’s, domestic disputes, drug rings, prostitution - you name it.  But the hardest were the ones with child abuse.”

“Sure,” Steve acknowledged.

Danny leaned forward to prop his elbows on the desk.  He folded his hands and bowed his head to cover the lower half of his face, mouth pressed against his knuckles.

Steve waited for him to gather his thoughts.

“It was the middle of January,” he said at last.  “Lots of snow that year; I remember the schools were always canceled and businesses were closed.  I was single at the time – no Rachel, no Grace, lots of partners and rookies rotating in and out.  One night, I get called to the local hospital because this twelve year old boy had limped in with a broken ankle and lots of bruises.  Doctors treated him, but he wouldn’t talk to anyone, wouldn’t say who he was, where he came from, or who hurt him.  So I go in to try and get some information, but I don’t have much luck either.”

He shifted to fold his arms on the desk.  “His doctor told me there were signs of old injuries too; gut told me he was being abused by a family member or some other authority figure in his life, someone he knew and feared enough not to talk.  It took some convincing, but I kept the hospital and the precinct from releasing his photo to the media.  I didn’t want his abuser coming and sweet talking his way into claiming him.”

Danny closed his eyes and swallowed.  “I wasn’t sure I could get through to him, but I told the kid that I would protect him, no matter what.  I promised him that whoever had hurt him would never touch him again.”

“Did he open up to you?”

Danny gave him a small smile.  “Eventually, at least enough to tell him his name - Richie Dawkins.  After a lot of digging, I figured out that he was the illegitimate son of a prominent businessman in the city.  His mom was a prostitute, murdered when he was a baby.”

Steve had a feeling he knew where the story was going from the indignation that resurfaced on his friend’s face.

“Kid’s father took him in, but as a punching bag, not a son.  Worse yet, the asshole was on friendly terms with most of the officers that served in his neighborhood – different precinct from where I was stationed, by the way.  They knew what was going on, but because he was supposedly such a ‘great guy’, and he donated a lot of money to charity, they looked the other way.”

“Kid couldn’t rely on the police to save him; it’s no wonder he had a hard time telling anyone what was going on,” Steve guessed.  

“Yeah,” Danny granted.  “But that wasn’t gonna stop me.  When social services came to take him to a foster home, I went along to check them out – make sure they were on the up and up with no connections to his father.  Then I went arrested the fucker.”  He shrugged and smirked a little.  “Mister Dawkins may or may not have suffered a minor concussion and a dislocated shoulder when I helped him into my squad car.”

“Daniel Williams!” Steve gasped, grinning.

Danny held up his hands.  “What can I say?  Accidents happen.”

“Then what?”

Danny’s expression lightened.  “Long story short: Dawkins went to jail and Richie was adopted by a distant relative on his mom’s side.  He moved to Wisconsin, got help, and grew up in a healthy, loving home.  Right now, he’s studying to be a nurse.”

“That’s great!” Steve cheered, glad to know there was a happy ending to the tale.

“Mm-hmm.”  Danny leaned back in his chair, his melancholy returning.  “That’s the gist of it, but it was a much longer process than I described.  I had to build a strong case for the D.A.; that part wasn’t so bad.  But getting little Richie to trust me enough to tell me the whole story, and then persuading him to testify against his father - it put both of us through the ringer.  But it was worth it in the end.”

Danny opened the desk drawer again, retrieved the postcard, and handed it Steve.  “Every Christmas, he sends me one of these, and we exchange letters and emails once in awhile.  I keep them handy for when I need some encouragement, reminders that as shitty as this job can be, some good can come out of it.  It doesn’t always work, but it’s worth hanging on to.”

Steve read the card, his smile widening with each line.  From the text, he gathered that Richie Dawkins had become a good man, one who had nothing but praise and thanks for the detective who’d saved him.  “This is awesome, Danny.  I wouldn’t have guessed you’d have anything like this.”

“Why’s that?”

Steve returned the card and stood up to stretch.  “Well, given your usual gloomy outlook on life and work…”

Danny got to his feet as well.  “Considering the hell you put me through on a daily basis, I am perfectly entitled to my ‘gloomy outlook’, McGarrett!”

“Oh, so this,” he motioned to the whole of Danny’s form, “lovely bundle of negative energy is my fault?”

“Exactly!  In fact, you should be grateful to Richie, because if I didn’t have these letters, I would be far more unpleasant and pessimistic as a cop.”

“Dear god!”

“But more importantly…”  Danny placed his hands on the desk and leaned towards Steve with a teasing leer upon his face.  “Did you just refer to me as a _‘lovely bundle’_?”

“Of negative energy; context is key, Danno.”

The two of them stared at each other a moment, then started laughing, their exhaustion likely making the conversation seem funnier than it was.

Danny circled around his desk to touch the SEAL on his lower back, guiding him out the door.  “Thanks, babe.  I needed that.”  He glanced at the floor.  

“Anytime, partner.”  Steve rested his hands on his hips, his grin disappearing.  “Hey - just so you know, someone saved Akoni at some point too.”

“But now he’s dead,” Danny whispered.  “He didn’t get the chance to grow up.”

Steve knew there were no assurances he could offer that would alleviate the weight of the case at hand, nothing that would make it easier.  He couldn’t dispel Danny’s desire to rewind time to a moment where Akoni Malik was still alive and could be saved by them, by _anyone_ , in spite of the fact that they hadn’t known of him and had no involvement in the abuse case.

There was only one thing to be done at this point.  

“So let’s get the son of a bitch who killed him.”


	3. Capture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For once in his life, things were going well for Steve. He should have known that was the universe’s cue to throw a wrench in everything.

The first time Danny came around after the barbarous beating, he was only conscious long enough to realize that he was being dragged somewhere, but he passed out before he could put up any kind of resistance.

The next time, he was jolted awake by the deafening screams of woman.  His protective nature overrode fear and dulled the pain throughout his body.  He snapped to full awareness.  

He found that he had been moved into a much larger room, his wrists bound with shackles and arms extended upwards by a long chain.  He thrashed and tried to spin around towards the direction of the screams.  

He had no idea who the woman was, but he was certain that she was being tortured by the same man he had faced earlier.  “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?  LEAVE HER ALONE!”

The screams quieted to frightened whimpers, and the _clomp, clomp_ of bulky boots approached Danny from behind.  One nasty strike to the head, and it was lights out again.

When Danny woke a third time, it was utterly silent.  No screaming, no stalking predator - but whether they had gone or his senses were still muffled from the head trauma, he didn’t know.  He kept his eyes closed as he completed a mental sweep of his body.

He was still hanging from a chain; his upper body was sore and stiff, burning from the stress of the position.  His hands were numb, and it was difficult to breathe.

His touched his tongue to his chapped lips and tasted salt and copper.  One side of his face felt sticky with a viscous substance.  

Everything hurt.  It was almost worse than the sarin poison, or the beating in Columbia.

“Hey,” whispered a voice.  “You awake?”

Danny forced his eyes open.  It was dark, but a glowing exit sign gave off just enough light for him to see the outline of another person, crouched against the wall opposite to him.

“M-my name is K-Kekoa Lucas.  What’s yours?”  He sounded young, maybe a teenager or young adult.

The detective moaned and rolled his head, still trying to get a grip on himself.  “Danny Williams.”  He glanced around.  “How long have we been here?”

“W-we’ve only been in this room for about five hours.  B-but I’ve been a prisoner here for a week, I think.  I don’t know when they first brought you here.”  The boy fidgeted.  “There were others…”

“Let me take a stab,” Danny said, thinking hard to recall the names.  “Mamoru Aoyagi, Jacob Rai, Akoni Malik, Rachel Tudyk and Kyra Beatrix.”

“How did you…?”

“Ngh.  I’m Five-0,” Danny told him.  “My team found their bodies – maybe yesterday?  Day before?  I’m not sure.  We were just starting to investigate when I was taken.”

Kekoa drew a sharp breath.  “Then, does that mean - will your team be looking for you?”

Danny directed his gaze towards him, trying his best to project confidence in his voice and face (even if Kekoa couldn’t see him well).  “Yeah, kid.  My partner’s a Navy SEAL.  He knows I’m missing, and he won’t stop until he finds us.  Any minute now, he’s gonna bust in here with SWAT and HPD to save us.  So we just need to sit tight and do whatever it takes to stay alive.  You hear me?”

He thought he saw a slight movement indicating agreement.  “Okay.”

Danny twisted to look around again.  “Hey, Kekoa?  Was there a woman here before?”

The boy curled in on himself, saying nothing.

It didn’t take a detective to figure out what the silence meant.

* * *

“Mmm!  I gotta hand it to you, Danny – this is amazing!  How did I not know about this place?”

“Right?”  Danny shoveled another handful of waffle fries down his throat, barely chewing.  “Meka used to bring me here whenever we had a really tough day at work.”

Steve froze with his burger stuck in his mouth.

“What?” Danny asked, looking a tad defensive at Steve’s incredulous staring.

The SEAL took a large bite.  “Nothin’,” he uttered, still chewing his food.

“Animal,” his friend teased, grinning.

Rather than go to their respective homes for the night, Danny had insisted on treating Steve to dinner as thanks for listening to his story about Richie Dawkins.  Steve told him it wasn’t necessary; he hadn’t done anything special, but he gave in when Danny admitted that he just didn’t feel like being alone.  And since Steve was always happy for a chance to hang out with the person of his affections off the clock, he didn’t fight him on it.

And not only were they sharing a late night dinner and trading good-natured barbs, Danny had opened up even further by taking him to a hole-in-the-wall diner that was special to him, one that he had shared with his former partner.  Meka had been Danny’s only friend before the formation of Five-0, but he didn’t often talk about him or his time at HPD.

Since Danny had let his guard down, perhaps it would be good opportunity for Steve to reciprocate by telling him how he felt, or try to start the conversation.  At the very least, he could get a little more information on where Danny’s head was at in the romance category.

Steve cleared his throat.  “So Danny – ah – you see anyone since Melissa?”

Danny jolted, but recovered enough to school his expression to one of indifference.  “No.”   He tugged at the knot in his tie.  “You?  Since Lynn I mean.”

“Nah.  I needed to take a break from dating, try to put things into perspective, you know?”

“Yeah, but it’s been a while.  I figured you’d have found yourself a new girl by now.  No offense, but it wasn’t long after Catherine that you started dating Lynn.  You’re not exactly the patient type.”

“Oh really?” Steve gripped, miffed by the mention of his ex and the insinuation that he couldn’t take his time with relationships.  “I’ll have you know that I’ve been _very_ patient over the years, but especially these last few months.”

Danny made a face.  “Yeah?  Not what I would call it, but go on and explain.”  He abandoned his dinner and relaxed against the booth bench.  “I can’t _wait_ to hear this.”

Steve groaned quietly.  He shouldn’t be surprised that his confession might happen in the midst of one of their arguments.  “If you must know, there is someone I’m thinking of asking out.  I’ve been trying to work up the nerve.”

“Work up the nerve?  What?  You afraid she’ll say no?”

Steve crossed his arms.  “It’s complicated, okay?”

Danny laughed bitterly.  “And when has that ever stopped you?  In all the years we’ve been together, I’ve seen you jump head first into the most _‘complicated’_ ,” he added air quotes, “situations imaginable, consequences-be-damned.”  He snatched his glass of water for a drink.

“That’s different!  You’re talking about work!  I’m talking about the possibility of fucking up one of the best friendships I’ve ever had and losing my partner!  I don’t want things to get weird between us just because I have feelings for you!”

Danny choked on his drink and nearly dropped the glass.  He hunched over and pounded his chest a few times.  “Wha-what did you just say?”

Steve hadn’t meant to go that far, but there was no turning back now.  He wiped a hand down his face.  “Listen Danny, I-”

“Excuse me?”

Both men turned to find a young woman loitering over their table, smiling but twisting her hands on the bottom of a loud, flower print t-shirt.  She shifted her weight from side to side and looked anywhere but directly at them.

Steve thought he might have seen her before, but he was too annoyed with the interruption to place her.

“I-I’m so sorry to intrude, but my husband and I are here on vacation and well - there appears to be a leak in one of the tires of our rental.  I’m afraid I’ve lost the number for the agency, so I can’t call a tow.”  She pointed to the badge on Danny’s belt.  “Forgive me, but I noticed that you were police officers and I was wondering if perhaps you might give us a hand?  The van has a spare and I think there’s a jack, but,” she giggled, “my husband is quite hopeless when it comes to vehicle maintenance.”

Steve and Danny traded glances, but neither were in the habit of saying no to someone in need of help.  

“Ah, sure.  No problem,” Danny answered.  He slide out of the booth and stood.  “I can give you a hand.”

Steve moved to follow, wanting to ensure that his friend wouldn’t take the opportunity to run off on him. “Need help?”  

Danny set a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.  “It’s okay; I got this, babe.”  He leaned over to whisper in his ear.  “Maybe while I’m gone, you should take the time to amend the post-case plans we made this morning.  If you really mean for it to be a actual date, then you might want to have some drugstore essentials on hand - you know, just in case you get lucky.”

Steve’s jaw fell open.  Danny straightened and winked before instructing the woman to lead him to her van.

Steve watched them exit the diner.  He tracked their movement through the booth window; they walked across the street towards a dark blue Sienna, where a figure paced in front of the rear tire.  The man, presumably the woman’s husband, extended his hand to Danny and pointed at the wheel.  

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he went back to his dinner, though he was grinning too much to enjoy the food anymore.  

He could hardly believe his good fortune!  They still needed to have a proper discussion, but for the first time in – he couldn’t even remember – things were looking up.  He’d let the true nature of his feelings slip, and Danny seemed enthusiastically on board.

Steve stole a few fries from Danny’s plate and turned to look out the window again-

\- just in time to see him get thrown into the back of the very van he was supposed to fix.

“DANNY!”  

Steve shot to his feet and sprinted out of the restaurant, gun drawn.  “HEY!  FIVE-0!  HANDS IN THE AIR!”

The man and woman stopped short and did as they were told, both appearing frightened by the weapon pointed at them.

“Put your hands on your head, interlace your fingers and drop to your knees!  Do it!”

They did.

Steve kept his gaze and gun fixed on them as he sidestepped in an arc to check the open trunk.  “Danny?  You okay?  Talk to me, buddy!”  

In his peripheral vision, he could see that the rear seats had been folded down, leaving plenty of room for an unconscious detective.  There was no movement from his friend.  

“Danny?

And then Steve made a grave error.  Concern for his partner’s unresponsive state overrode his training.  He took his eyes off of the suspects for a split second, but it was all they needed to act.

The male pulled a knife from behind his back and threw it, clipping Steve in the side just as he leapt into the van to protect Danny.  The guy was on him before he could get his bearings, pushing him down against the upholstery and attempting to wrestle the gun from his hands.

Steve tried to pull the trigger and kick the man away, but he was unbelievably strong and the shots went wild.  He didn’t notice that the woman had retreated to climb in through one of the other doors.  

A thin arm looped around his neck from behind at just the right angle and tightened, restricting his ability to breathe.  He let go of the gun so that he could reach up to break the grip, but before he could, the man stretched his arm back and punched him in square in the face.

The world around him went dark.


	4. Lana Palmer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The suspect inexplicably turns herself in.

“Commander?  Can you hear me?”

Steve moaned and opened his eyes to find Max bent over him.  Kono hovered over his shoulder, her form awash with relief.

“Thank god!  Are you okay?”

“My head…”  He pressed a palm to his forehead to calm the incessant throbbing.  “What…?”

“We think you were attacked last night.  Chin found you passed out here, on the couch in your office, a few minutes ago.  We were going to call an ambulance, but Max came by to drop a few things off and said he’d check you out first.”

The doctor raised a small flashlight to examine his pupils for unequal size or abnormal movement.  Steve grimaced and turned his head.  He swatted at the M.E.  “I’m fine.”

“Please hold still.  If that massive bruise between your eyes is any indication, you probably have a concussion.  You should be transported to the nearest hospital for a CT scan.”

“What about Danny?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“They attacked him.  I think he was passed out and…”  The memory of the event trickled back.  Steve rolled onto his side and pushed himself up.  The change in position made him nauseous, and a sense of dread only added to it.  “Where is he?  Is he alright?”

“Commander, please!  You must limit any sudden movements until you’ve been properly examined.”

“Kono!”  He wasn’t in the habit of trying to intimidate anyone on his team, but he needed to know.  “Tell me!”

She worried her bottom lip with her teeth for a few seconds.  Then she dragged one of the leather chairs closer to the couch and sat down, elbows resting on her knees.  “I’m sorry, but we don’t know.  We tried calling his cell, but he didn’t answer.  And we can’t trace it – it must be turned off.  You and the woman were the only ones we found.”

“What woman?”

“She was sitting here with you when we got in.  She claimed responsibility for hurting you and Danny, but she won’t tell us anything else.  Lou and Chin are questioning her in one of the interrogation rooms.”

Steve hopped to his feet, fighting against the dizziness, and stumbled to the door.  

“Hey, wait!  You need to go to the hospital!”  Kono and Max tried to grab his arms and force him back to his seat.

“What I need is to find out who the hell they are, and what they’ve done with Danny!”

Steve shrugged them off and made his way downstairs, all the while tuning out their protests.

The faint sound of voices guided him to the second door on the right.  He did not knock or do anything else to warn his colleagues of the impending explosion; he burst through the door, startling Chin and Lou.

The woman – the same woman from the diner the previous evening – did not recoil from the slamming door, or the death glare of an enraged Navy SEAL.

“YOU!” Steve roared.  “Where is he?!  What have you done with my partner?!”

She shifted to sit up as tall as possible, but the handcuffs binding her to the chair prevented her from moving too much.  She smiled serenely.  “Commander McGarrett!  I’m so happy to see you up and about.”  She titled her head, examining him with a critical eye.  “Oh dear, that looks really bad.  I’m sorry; my husband really is hopeless.  He just doesn’t know his own strength sometimes.”  

She curved towards him and lowered her voice.  “That’s why we need so many test subjects.  I’m afraid my dear Kevin tends to get overzealous in our work; he kills them off before we’re done with them.”

“What the hell are you talking about?!” Steve shouted.

She laughed, her whole attitude casual and relaxed, as though she were sharing a joke with friends.  “No need to play dumb, Commander!  I know you and your team found our disposal site.”  She sighed dramatically.  “Such a shame, too.  Kev and I loved to take walks in the reserve after getting rid of an expired subject.”

“Wait - you’re behind all those killings?” Lou sputtered.

She bobbed her head.  “Yes, officer.  Do try to keep up.”

This had to be one of the most bizarre circumstances they’d dealt with.  Five-0 hadn’t begun any real work on the case yet besides identifying and linking the victims.  They had not even started to build a suspect pool, yet their perp chose to walk right in and confess!

Steve didn’t much care why though.  There was only one thing he wanted to know right now.

He stalked over to the deranged woman and folded over her, his face mere inches from hers.  “I’m only going to ask you this one more time.  Where is my partner?”

The flash of teeth and upward pull of her cheeks unnerved him.  “With my husband, of course.”  She let her head fall back.  “I wonder what he’s doing to him right now?  We have a full book of experiments we like to try with our subjects, and we’re always adding to it.  Personally, I’m a fan of nitrogen asphyxiation.  It gets similar results as waterboarding without having to mop up afterwards.  But Kevin - he enjoys a much more ‘ _hands-on’_ approach.  He has this thing for crunchy noises – says it relaxes him.”  

If possible, her grin widened further, fully stretching across her face.  “His favorite is the sound bones make when they break.”

Steve howled and charged, hands reaching for her throat.  He didn’t care who or what she was, or that she was restrained.  All he knew was that Danny was in danger, and he needed to find him.  She held the key to Danny’s salvation in her hands, and she was using that knowledge to toy with them.

“Steve!  Don’t!”

Chin and Lou were on him in an instant.  They hauled him away from her and out of the room, the volume of his screams matched by the woman’s laughter.

“LET GO OF ME!”

“Hey!  Pull yourself together, McGarrett!”

“They’ve got Danny!  If we don’t do something, they’re going to kill him!”

“We know, Steve!”  They shoved him away from the door; Lou pulled it shut behind them.  He and Chin blocked Steve’s path to re-entry.

“We’re just as worried as you are,” Chin insisted in his calming tone.  “But she isn’t responding to intimidation, so our best bet right now is to try and gather as much background information as we can and use it to get in her head.  We need to trick her into giving up Danny’s location.”

“That’s gonna be a rough trip,” Lou muttered.  “Girl’s definitely got a few screws loose.”

“We don’t have time for this!” Steve argued.  “If we _are_ dealing with our serial killers, there’s no telling how much time he has.”

“He’s only been gone about eight hours.  Max and Jerry’s analyses tell us the victims were held for days,” Chin reasoned.

“Yeah?  And what do you suppose is happening to him in the meantime?  You saw the autopsy results.”  Steve pointed at the door behind them.  “You heard what she said!  Every minute we don’t find him-”

“We know!”  Lou interrupted.  He smacked away Steve’s accusing finger.  “But we need to be smart about this – figure out what’s motivating her and what her endgame is.”

Chin put a comforting hand on Steve’s shoulder.  “Come on; let’s go see if Jerry’s dug up anything that can help us.  She had a fake I.D. on her, but he’s been running her photo through facial recognition.  He’s had to have found something by now.”

Steve reluctantly allowed them to guide him back upstairs.  His thoughts began to whirl with all the questions he _should_ have been asking himself – would have - if Danny weren’t in danger.  What kind of game was this woman playing?  Why turn herself in instead of accompanying her supposed husband to wherever they were holding Danny and their other victims?  And why did they chose his partner as their next “subject”?

The three men met a grim-faced Kono and Jerry around the smart table, though Max was nowhere to be seen.  Whatever they had could not be good.  

“You get anywhere on our mystery woman?” Lou asked.  

“Yeah.”  Jerry flicked his open windows up to the display.  “Facial Rec identified her as Lana Palmer, which would make her husband Kevin Palmer.  They’ve been on the F.B.I.’s Most Wanted list for multiple homicides.  Adding to what we’ve found here brings their suspected body count up to thirty-six, most of them in the lower western part of the U.S.”

Kono contributed, “We contacted the agents who’ve been tracking them.  They should be forwarding their case files any time now.”

Jerry showed them a series of travel documents.  “For now, we can tell you that they moved to O'ahu two months ago, using the aliases Abaddōn and Arai Thanatos.”

“Cute,” Grover grumbled.

“No permanent address that I could find and no credit cards tied to any of the names they’ve used.”  Jerry pressed a few more keys to open a series of phone records and bank statements.  “But here’s the good news: I flagged the victims’ financial accounts and got a few hits on cards used _after_ their deaths.  The most recent transaction was for food delivery at this address three days ago.”  He brought up the residential and street designation for the Kaimuki area.  

“This house belongs to Harata and Mai Lucas.”  A photo of two women and a teenage boy popped up alongside the address.  “According to their credit card statements and identification papers, the two of them are vacationing on the mainland, but their son Kekoa supposedly stayed behind.”

Kono used a tablet to overlay the screen with Kekoa’s university I.D.  “I checked with one of his professors; he hasn’t shown up to class for about a week now.  And get this - he co-leads an after school support group for bullied kids, primarily those with same-sex parents.”

“Missing, and he meets our victim criteria,” Chin said.

Steve took it all in and nodded.  “Okay.  Jerry - keep digging.  I want absolutely everything you can find on our suspects,” Steve ordered.  “Chin - stay here and take another crack at Ms. Palmer, see if you can’t get any more information out of her.  The rest of us will go check out the Lucas residence.  If we’re lucky, we’ll find Danny and Kekoa there.”  

“Sure.  But after that, we’re taking you to the hospital to get checked,” Kono warned.  “You won’t be good to anyone if you keep walking around concussed.”  She adopted the stance she reserved for uncooperative suspects.

Steve decided it was better not to argue.

* * *

They took Lou’s SUV to the Kaimuki address.  Along the way, Steve filled them in on what he could remember of the previous night’s proceedings, conferencing in Chin and Jerry as well.

Two HPD squad cars met them en route.  All three vehicles parked haphazardly in the middle of the street; Five-0 and the extra officers wasted no time on formalities or curious onlookers.  After donning tac vests and gloves, they covered a front and rear exit to the house and kicked the doors in, announcing their presence with guns drawn.

A standard sweep of the place revealed no trace of anything out of the ordinary.  It was a modest, two story house, fully furnished and with all the signs of happy, healthy home.  Photos of the two women and their son adorned the walls; everything else was clean and orderly.  

“Clear!”

“Clear!”

Steve and Grover lowered their weapons.  There was no sign of Kevin Palmer, Danny, or Kekoa Lucas.  Nothing stood out to them during a second pass through either, no evidence of a struggle or that anyone other than the residents had been there.  It’d been left it pristine.

Kono and the officers met them in the living area.  “If the Palmers were here, they were careful,” she said.

Steve swallowed the anger that came with the seeming dead end.  “Right.  Kono, get on the phone with the crime lab.  I want techs down here now; have them go over this place from top to bottom.”

“On it.”

He turned to the three uniformed policemen.  “Keep this place secure.  You see anything suspicious or anyone tries to enter, you call me immediately.”

“Yes, sir!” one of them complied.

Steve paced the room, doing his best to take a closer look at the space for clues, but his focus was lacking.  He shouted and kicked a dresser, then stomped back outside to get some air.  Lou followed him out.

“Hey, man.  You okay?”

The SEAL ran a hand across his forehead and through his hair.  “Am I okay?  No!  No, Lou, I am NOT okay!  Danny-”

“-is going to be just fine!” Grover insisted.  “We both know that he is one tough S.O.B. and he is not going down without a fight.  And that goes double if he’s being held with Kekoa or anyone else; he’ll want to protect them.”  He toned down the frantic energy.  “I know he’s your partner and you’re upset, but he’s counting on you, on all of us.  We just gotta do what we do best, man - keep our heads clear, follow the evidence, and be smart about it.”

Steve shuffled back and forth, shaking his head.  “He shouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.  Dammit, Lou!  I was right there!”

“Come on, don’t be stupid!  How the hell were either of you supposed to know?  These psychos played you, like they’ve played others before you.  They’ve been evading law enforcement all over the place, and they weren’t on our radar at all.  This isn’t on you.”  Lou crossed his arms.  “But if you’d rather mope out here instead of helping us save Danny…”

Steve ceased the erratic walking and rounded on his friend.  “What did you just say to me?”

Lou didn’t back down.  “All I’m saying is that the guilty martyr act is a waste of time.  You wanna help your partner?  Then you gotta bring your A game; settle down and focus.”  He pointed to Steve’s bruised face.  “And  you can start by getting yourself checked.  You’ll think better if you clean up and have a doctor look at you.”

Kono joined them before Steve could come up with a retort.  “Techs are on their way.”  She held up a wrinkled piece of paper.  “And one of the officers found this when they were securing the scene.”

Lou looked over Steve’s shoulder as he smoothed it out.  The document was a list of over twenty or so support groups and charitable organizations based in and around Honolulu; several had check marks beside them in red ink.  With a start, they realized that five of the checked names matched the groups their victims belonged to, but there were others marked that they did not recognize.  

There was one, however, that jumped out at Steve.

His horror must have registered on his face.  Kono asked, “What is it, boss?”  She maneuvered to look at the sheet again.

Steve pointed to a bulleted list of support groups that did not have a specific name, merely demographics and meeting addresses.  “This is…”  He paused and grit his teeth, hesitant to divulge something he had only ever discussed with Danny.  He loved and trusted each member of his Ohana in turn, but some things were still private.

But now was not the time for secrets and second guessing, not when lives were at stake.

“This group,” he pushed forward, his finger beneath the appropriate line.  “I attend this one for Veterans.  I even facilitate sometimes if our leader isn’t able to make it.”

To their credit, neither Lou nor Kono remarked on the withheld information, but they read the clue and its implications accordingly.

“It’s got a check mark next to it,” Kono whispered.  “Oh, Steve…”

“Probably means that you’re one of their targets,” Lou concurred.  He crossed his arms.  “But it that’s the case, why did they take Danny and not you?”

Steve folded the paper and gave it back to Kono.  “Good question.  Let’s go ask our suspect.”

“Hospital first,” she reminded him.  “Lou, can you take him - make sure he doesn’t try to leave on his own?  I’ll hitch a ride back to the palace and see if Jerry and Eric can get anything else from this list.”

“You got it,” Grover saluted.  He put a hand on Steve’s shoulder and pushed him towards his vehicle, his grip tight to ensure he wouldn’t try to escape.  “Come on, McGarrett.  The sooner we get your skull fixed up, the sooner you can go bust someone else’s.”

Steve’s hands clenched into fists, but he consented, knowing that resisting would only waste more time.

Moreover, as he observed Kono’s restless pacing in front of the house, once more on the phone with Chin, and Lou’s rigid grasp on the steering wheel, he remembered that he was not, in fact, the only one who was concerned for Danny.  

He and his partner were so often together and so close, he sometimes forgot that the rest of the team loved him too, albeit in different ways, and they wouldn’t stop until their gruff but tender-hearted _haole_ was safe and home with them.  It didn’t necessarily dispel the misguided guilt or the righteous anger, but his faith in Five-0 gave him some small measure of comfort.

He hoped that wherever he was, Danny likewise drew strength from that, would fight to stay alive because he’d know they were coming for him.

 _‘Hold on, Danno,'_ he thought.   _‘We’ll find you.’_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


End file.
